Movie Review: Rio

I had the pleasure of being able to Screen Rio a day early, and took my older teenagers with me, as we all tend to love animated films. As we arrived at the theater, we were surprised to learn that the movie was in 3d, which was kind of a bummer for me, because I have had some nausea problems with 3D movies in the past, and usually opt to take the glasses off. As I settled into the chair, waiting for the movie to start, I decided that I would do my best to enjoy the movie, despite the fact that it was 3D and the other fact that we were packed in like Sardines in the theater for this free Screening.

It took my eyes a few minutes to get comfortable with the 3D glasses and movie effect. In the opening credits I saw the words "real D 3D", which I had never seen before. I wondered if this was an upgrade to the old 3D technology and began to watch the effects with interest. In the beginning of the movie, the effects were very in-your-face and dynamic, but before long, I completely forgot that it was a 3D movie. This is not to say that the effects were less dynamic or non-existent, but that once I got used to it, I forgot about it.

The movie itself was jam-packed with celebrity talent.

Anne Hathaway who played the Heroine, Olive, is famous for the "Princess Diaries" and other movies

Jesse Eisenberg as Blu, most recently did "The Social Network"

Jemaine Clement as the Evil Bird named Nigel, formerly starred in "Flight of the Concords", and was also in "Despicable Me" as Jerry the Minion.

Leslie Mann as Linda, who was in "17 Again" and the "40 year old Virgin".

George Lopez as Rafael, the toucan is also known for the George Lopez sit-con, and his current late night show, the George Lopez Show.

Jamie Fox as a crooning canary named Nico, is famous for his comedy shows and movies such as Dream Girl and

Will.I.am as a rapping red-crested cardinal named Pedro, is known as creative genius behind the Black Eye Peas.

Tracy Morgan Luiz as the Bulldog, is known for stand-up comedy, Saturday Night Live, and 30 Rock.

Even with all of these big names involved, the characters seemed to have their own personalities, and were not an extension of the celebrities themselves. I have yet to decide if this is good or bad. On the one hand, I was able to enjoy the cartoon characters and their own distinct personalities. On the other hand, I spent an inordinate amount of time saying, "I think that's Jamie Foxx", "That's got to be Will.I.am." The only truly recognizable character was Tracy Morgan as Luiz, the Bull dog.

In all, it was a fun movie, with one moment of what I thought was a tad on the violent side, even if it was one of the villains getting his due. I also thought that it ended rather abruptly, and they could have run the movie for another 15 minutes to give a more full ending, instead of just adding photos to the credits.

The movie is rated G for general audiences, but I feel like small kids will lose attention and be scared with some of the fighting. I think it is best for Kindergarten and up.